Window-washers rescued after platform collapses

Bill Fuller Associated Press

Posted:
04/25/2014 10:28:51 AM CDT

Updated:
04/25/2014 10:28:51 AM CDT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Three window-washers were pulled to safety Friday after the platform they were working on at a New Orleans high-rise gave way, leaving them dangling on safety harnesses for about 20 minutes hundreds of feet above the street.

Rescuers were called to the 53-story Capitol One building on St. Charles Avenue in the business district after the platform gave way shortly after 8:30 a.m.

The men had been working at the building's 49th-floor level. Rescuers smashed windows and pulled them into the building. The men appeared to be shaken, but not hurt.

One of the three, 58-year-old Jorge Gomez, says there was no warning before one of the cables supporting the platform from the rooftop gave way.